


A Mile in Your Shoes

by threadingtheneedle



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Black Paladin Keith (Voltron), Blue Paladin Allura (Voltron), Body Swap, Body Swap AU, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gift Fic, Klance Holiday Exchange 2017, Langst, M/M, POV Alternating, POV Keith (Voltron), POV Lance (Voltron), Red Paladin Lance (Voltron), i dont know the actual tag for it whoops, idk - Freeform, keith never left for the blade, play checkers or something, rated for language, shiro and matt just chill around all day and, slight langst, takes place between s3 and s4
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 01:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13224888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/threadingtheneedle/pseuds/threadingtheneedle
Summary: Lance and Keith were known to have the occasional spat now and again; it wasn’t anything new. But their relationship will be put to the test when they wake up to find themselves in the other's body.gift for @artsanpun101 on tumblr~





	A Mile in Your Shoes

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for [artsanpuc101](http://artsanpuc101.tumblr.com/) via [klance-exchange's](http://klance-exchange.tumblr.com/) holiday exchange! ~~i know i sent you that ask saying that i was gonna incorporate soulmates into this but i ended up not doing that bc i didnt see your reply until i was too into the story. whoops.~~ This will be multichaptered so it's the gift that keeps on giving! Hope you enjoy :)
> 
> not yet proofread
> 
> follow my [tumblr](http://www.threadingtheneedle.tumblr.com)!!

“We’ve met hundreds of alien species, and we’ve finally found one that doesn’t speak English,” Lance muttered, staring at the little aliens scurrying by on their crab like legs. “Of course it would be these.”

“I’m surprised it took us this long,” Pidge replied. “There are probably billions upon billions of species in our known universe. The odds that it took us this long to find one that doesn’t speak our language is astounding.”

“Imagine if when we came up here everyone spoke, like, Russian, or something.” Hunk chuckled to himself. “How screwed would we be?”

Lance nodded. “Pretty darn screwed.”

They watched as one of the short grey creatures walked up to him with a cup of yellow… _something_ , and handed it to Hunk. He took it cautiously.

“Uhh... thanks?” Hunk said before taking a careful sip. His eyes lit up and he smiled. “Hey, this is actually really good!” He shoved it in Lance’s face. “You’ve got to try this, bro.”

Lance smiled uneasily, trying not to upset the alien in front of him. “Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t like to share food. Spreads germs, y’know?” He had no idea if the alien had any idea what he was saying. He turned to him anyways. “Can I have my own? I would love to try one.”

The alien - Lance believed Allura called them _Karacalos_? - nodded to himself with a few short clicks before walking away. Lance didn’t need to watch to know he was headed towards the growing mass surrounding Allura. She was the only one who could speak their language, so she became a huge celebrity rather quickly. She stood with her back straight, paladin helmet under one arm and her head bent to talk to the 3 foot tall species. She had a polite smile on her face, but Lance knew her patience was dwindling by how much she tapped her hand against her leg.

“Maybe we’re just lucky.”

Lance turned his head towards Keith, who was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, watching the aliens running around with a careful gaze. They were here for a diplomatic mission, but seeing as none of them knew how to speak the Karacalo language, Allura was the one holding the meeting while the rest of the paladins stood off to the side.

“Lucky for what?” Pidge asked the brooding man.

“Lucky that most alien species speak our language,” Keith replied with a shrug.

Lance couldn’t help but scoff.

“What?” Keith snapped.

Lance whipped his head to Keith, who was staring at him with a steady glare. “What?” He echoed, feigning innocence.

“What was that scoff for?”

“Oh, what, am I not allowed to scoff now?” Lance deflected easily, scoffing for good measure.

Usually Lance would willingly voice his thoughts if it meant starting a some good ol’ rivalry banter with Keith, but these were some thoughts he’d rather keep hidden. He knew the others would take it the wrong way if they heard. He knew what they were doing was important and they were saving countless lives. No one else could do what they do. But even with knowing all the responsibility and importance that comes with being a paladin of Voltron, he was still bitter about the fact that he had to leave Earth. He was rather homesick.

“You’re insufferable,” Keith muttered, shaking his head and looking away.

Lance knew that that was meant to be a final statement, but like he said, he _loved_ to banter. That was why he pivoted towards Keith, stomped his foot and put a hand on his chest while shouting maybe a tad bit loudly, “I’m insufferable?!”

Lance wasn’t sure if he was more frightened or excited by the deadly stare pointed his way.

“Why you little-”

“I’m taller than you!”

“Hey, uh, guys?” Hunk interrupted. He had a nervous smile on his face and his tone was cautious. “Can you save this for later? The natives are getting nervous.”

Lance sucked in the insult he was going to throw at Keith and looked over to the Karacalos. They were rubbing their lips together and stepping side to side, just like a crab would. He probably would’ve thought they were giant crabs if it weren’t for their humanoid upper halves and lack of claws. The sound of their anxiousness caused a low hum to echo around the enclave they were stationed at. Even the critters surrounding Allura looked distressed, causing her to finally face the rest of the paladins. She clicked a few times to the closest Karacalos near her, who responded with a loud snap. Allura faced the two paladins with a furrowed brow.

“Keith, Lance? What did you do?” She scolded.

“What? I didn’t do anything!” Lance gasped, putting his hands on his hips. He side eyed the boy next to him. “Keith on the other hand…”

“Oh come on! Seriously?” Keith shouted. He stood up from the tree and took a step towards Lance. He took this as a chance to get in Keith’s face.

“Yes! I didn’t do anything wrong. You were the one who got all mad about me scoffing.” He turned to a nearby Karacalos, giving him a face that translated into _can you believe this guy?_ He wasn’t having it.

“I just asked you a valid question! You were the one that got so defensive.”

The Karacalos huddled closer together.

Allura nervously stared at the aliens around her. She made her way towards the bickering pair. “Paladins, stop-”

“I can react how I want to react. You’re no boss of me.”

“I’m the paladin of the black lion!”

“And that gives you permission to control my emotions?”

“That- that’s not what I meant-”

“Enough!” Allura pulled the two boys apart. Lance was almost flung to the ground. Right, he thought, Altean super strength. “We are on a diplomatic meeting. I believe that entails diplomacy between us as well.” She stood up with her arms crossed, face set in a disappointed glare. “We are paladins of Voltron. We’re supposed to set an example to others. I may not be the leader of the group,” she gave a stink eye to Keith, one he didn’t dare object to, “but that does not mean that I will stand aside and tolerate this behavior.”

“Sorry, Allura,” Lance sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lance and Keith were known to have the occasional spat now and again; it wasn’t anything new. They used to not be able to stand being alone in a room without bickering in the first few minutes. Thing slowly started to change as the weeks went on, and the fighting turning into lighthearted teasing. Instead of it being held with ill intention like it was during the beginning of their space adventure, it somehow shifted into a familiar habit. Whenever Lance egged Keith on, he meant it with good intentions, laced with jest instead of malice. It was their thing - Lance and Keith, neck and neck. Rivals til the end. Lance had to admit that it somehow got carried away - this situation being exhibit A - but it wasn’t meant to actually go too far. Lance knew it, and Keith knew it, too.

Or, at least, Lance was pretty sure Keith knew it.

Allura sighed, accepting his apology. For now. There were bigger problems to attend to.

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to them.” Allura gestured to the mass of aliens surrounding them.

Before Lance could ask Allura how in the hell he was supposed to do that when he didn’t even know how to talk to them in the first place, a Karacalos walked up to the paladins with two chalices, one in each hand. He stretched them out to both Lance and Keith. Lance was about to reject the offer, but hastily grabbed the cup after eyeing Allura’s face.

“Thank… you,” Keith said, gingerly grabbing the cup. The Karacalos stared at the both of them. “We’re, uh, sorry for our intrusion.”

“Yeah, what he said.” Lance tipped his head towards Keith.

Allura clicked to the Karaclos in front of them, who responded with a sturdy nod. He still didn’t walk away.

“Well?” Allura said, voice teetering on frustration. “Drink up.”

Lance stared down at his drink. It didn’t like too off from Hunk’s, the only visible difference being the fact that it was purple instead of yellow. Bubbles rose from the bottom of the cup and rose to the surface. Maybe it was carbonated? He took a quick sniff but didn’t smell anything. Lance wondered if they understood him when he asked for a drink, but didn’t understand why they gave Keith a drink also if that was true.

Lance took a glance over to the black paladin to see him also staring at the drink. Keith slowly brought the chalice up to his mouth and took a tiny sip. Almost immediately after, he let out a violent burp. Lance snickered as Keith’s cheeks reddened and he covered his mouth, a muffled apology heard through his hand.

“Lance,” Allura warned.

Lance tried hiding the grimace on his face before taking a quick swig.

Oh, Lance thought, quickly shoving down his own belch. That is so carbonated.

The drink tasted nothing like Lance thought it would. He expected it to taste like artificial grape seeing as it was a deep purple, but it was close to an earthy tea-like taste, like matcha. It was almost like eating a swamp, but strangely delicious? He had no idea how the Kararcalos made swamps appetizing but they did it. He downed another sip.

The Karacalos seemed to approve their reactions and skittered away. Allura gave them a thankful smile before following the alien.

There was a moment of tense silence between the paladins. Lance felt like he had to say something to Keith, but he didn’t know what. He just kept giving side eyed glances to Keith as he took little sips of his drink. Keith seemed to be in the same boat as Lance. He leaned back against the tree, staring into his cup.

Lance suddenly realized that he had no idea where to put his chalice if he finished.

Keith mumbled something into his drink.

“What was that?” Lance asked, genuinely curious. He shuffled closer to him and leaned his head to the side to hear him better.

Keith looked up at him with an almost shocked expression before shaking his head and looking back into his drink. “Nothing,” he muttered.

Lance was about to egg him on when Allura returned.

“Good news, they’ve decided to join the fight,” Allura announced, clasping her hands together. “Well, not physically. They might be lacking in the, uh, strength department, but they more than well make up for it with their craftsmanship. The Karacalos have agreed to help supply us with tools or weapons in exchange for protection if the Galra ever attacked.”

“Sounds good to me,” Pidge grinned, stretching her arm above her head. “I promised Matt that I would show him the video game system today. I was hoping we’d get going soon.”

“You need to show him Smash Bros. I will wreck him,” Hunk said with a grin.

“Oh ho, nice try buddy. We all know I’m the best Smash player.” Lance wrapped his arm around Hunk’s shoulders. “You don’t got nothing on me.”

“We’ll see about that.” Hunk rolled his eyes, but his smile stayed firm on his face.

Lance felt a pit in his stomach while they walked back to castle ship. Something didn't feel right with him. He looked around and saw Keith walking a few feet behind them. He had his arms crossed and eyes trained for the ground. Lance slowed his stride so he could walk next to him.

"You okay, bro?" He asked when he reached his side.

Keith jumped at his intrusion, looking up at him with widened eyes. Lance furrowed his brow. Keith must've noticed him make his way over. It took him a while to reach him.

"Yeah, I'm," he cut himself off with a puff of air, tapping the side of his arm. "I'm just not feeling good. Kinda nauseous." He took a quick glance back up at Lance before looking back at the ground. "Maybe the Karacolos poisoned us."

Lance couldn't help but let out a snort. "God, I hope not," he chuckled. He slowly made himself comfortable next to Keith, walking with his arms crossed behind his head. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Allura wouldn't let us actually drink it if it had the potential to be poisonous."

A small smile appeared on Keith's face. "I suppose not."

Lance stole a glance down at Keith. His fellow paladin still kept his gaze aimed towards the ground, but his arms were no longer crossed and his face was more relaxed. While on their trek back, they slowly started to walk closer to each other, and every once in a while Keith's hand would graze Lance's hip. Neither made a move to move away.

Lance interrupted the comfortable silence with a quick hip bump. "Hey, want to play Smash with us?" Lance asked. "I'll go easy on you," he added with a wink.

Keith looked at him with the same shocked expression he had before. Lance didn't know what it meant, but it was starting to worry him. "Thanks, but, uh, no thanks." Keith blew it off with a shrug. "I think I'll just go back to my room and... chill."

Lance scoffed. "You? Chill?" He expected there to be some sort of snarky remark, but none came. Keith was back to crossing his arms. "Are you sure?" Lance asked.

Keith only replied with a nod.

Sensing that he wasn't going to get anything else out of him, Lance shrugged and caught back up with the others. He didn't look back at Keith.

* * *

Lance's first hint that something was wrong when he woke up on his stomach. That was something he _never_ did. It hurt his back and caused him to drool, something that he he tries his best not to make happen. 

His second hint was when he went to wipe his face - _yep, there's drool_ \- and came in contact with naked skin. His tiredly pawed at his cheek, not feeling the cream he put on the night before. Not only that, but his skin felt dry and tight too. And, now that he thought about it, his hands felt oddly tight too. He opened his eyes, vision still blurred with sleep, and saw that his hands were wearing something dark and tight. He blinked a few times to clear his vision.

_Were those... fingerless gloves?_

"What the-"

Lance cut himself off and slapped his hand over his mouth. The sound that came out was definitely not his voice.

He quickly shot up and made a move to throw his blanket off him only to see that the blanket was already on the floor. He looked down at himself and, yep, those were _not_ the clothes he went to bed in; he would never sleep in jeans.

Lance would've almost thought he was taken and put in some sort of cell if it weren't for the fact that he knew this was a room in the castle. It was just like his, except way too tidy. One would think it wasn't lived in for years. Lance noticed the door to the adjacent bathroom and ran towards it.

The floor beneath his feet was freezing. He missed his lion slippers.

He placed his hand over the sensor and the door opened with a _swoosh_. He ran for the mirror above the sink and prayed to God that he wouldn't see what he thought he would. Apparently, the universe wasn't on his side.

The third, and most damning hint, was when he saw Keith's face staring back at him in the mirror.

"ALLURA!" Lance screamed, his new voice too deep for the scream he tried to achieve. He took a few steps away from the mirror, rubbing at his now sore throat. The reflection - _Keith_ \- copied his movement. " _ALLURA!_ "

Lance raced out of the bathroom, turning out of his room so fast that he almost slipped on the metal floor. He kept screaming for the princess, deep voice cracking every time.

"Keith!"

"Keith?" Lance echoed hopefully. He needed to see Keith and figure out what the hell was going on.

Shiro appeared at the end of the hall, looking slightly distressed. "Keith? What's going on?"

Lance sighed in relief. Shiro was an adult. He would know what to do.

"Oh, thank God," he muttered as he ran towards Shiro. "I need help."

"What do you mean? Why are you so worked up?" Shiro asked with a hint of worry. He watched as Lance caught up with him, raising a brow as he had to kneel down and put his hands on his thighs to catch his breath. "And why are you up so late?"

Lance lifted his head, blowing out a puff of hair to get the dark hair out of his face. "Late?" It wasn't even that late. He usually got up around 9am Earth time. Jesus, what time did Keith get up? He quickly shook his head. "Nevermind that. I need to talk to Allura."

Shiro's worried face became skeptical. "Why?"

Lance gulped, fear suddenly racing through his veins. He did not like the look Shiro was giving him. "Uhh..."

Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, Shiro on his back and stretching his arm behind him.

"Ow- Shiro! What the fuck?!" Lance screeched. He tried to wriggle away, but the grip on his arm tightened. He winced at the twitch of pain that erupted in his shoulder.

"You're not Keith," Shiro hissed. _Yeah, no shit._ "Where is he?"

"I-I don't know- Jesus Christ, Shiro, get off me!"

Lance heard some shuffling at the end of the hall. "Shiro? What's going on?"

"Allura!" The relief he felt before came back threefold. "Get him off me!"

"We've had an intrusion of some sort," Shiro informed Allura, voice all business. He didn't keep his eyes off Lance. "This isn't Keith. This is an impostor."

"A _what?!_ " Lance screeched.

"An impostor?" Allura gasped. "What happened to Keith?"

"No! That's not what-" Lance grunted in annoyance. "Keith! Where's Ke- where's Lance?"

"Why do you want to know?" Shiro asked.

"Because he's the only one who'll be able to fix this whole damn-"

_"Lance!"_

He knew that voice. That was _his_ voice.

The relief Lance felt was enough to make his chest explode. "Keith!"

Hurried footsteps echoed down the hall. A pair of bare feet stopped in front of Lance's field of vision. He wasn't able to see that well, seeing as his face was currently being mushed into the floor and all, but he could make out a blurry figure standing in front of him, wearing a familiar blue pajama set and green face cream.

"Oh no," Keith whispered to himself in Lance's voice.

"Yeah, _'oh no'_ indeed," Lance huffed. He couldn't wipe the smile of relief off his face. "Can you get Shiro off of me now?"


End file.
